


It Begins

by angylinni



Series: Finding Home [9]
Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-02
Updated: 2014-06-02
Packaged: 2018-02-03 03:51:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1730132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angylinni/pseuds/angylinni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Katniss and Peeta have a complicated, messy relationship filled with heartbreak, pain and when they get it right, unparalleled bliss. Over the course of fifteen years, they fall in and out of love and manage to figure out that the love they share is worth fighting for. This is how it begins.   Part Nine of Finding Home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It Begins

**Author's Note:**

> written for the 2014 S2SL charity drive. Huge thanks to Court and Cat for beta duties and hand holding. This one is for Louezem who has waited very patiently for me to continue this and has been such a fantastic supporter and friend. Thanks to Ro Nordmann for the fabulous banner that she made for the entire series.

“Katniss, get in the truck.”

She stared resolutely ahead, pushing her rain soaked hair out of her eyes.  Of course the heavens had decided to open the minute she’d started running from that stupid party.  Her luck never changed.

Peeta’d followed her out of the party and by the time she was halfway down the block he had gotten into his truck and was now keeping pace with her.  She refused to even look at him, too angry and embarrassed.  She’d messed everything up – as usual.

“Katniss, you’re soaked, please get in the truck,” he pleaded through the open passenger window, the truck keeping pace with her angry stride.

She turned her head finally, staring at him coldly as she stopped.  “Go away; I’m not your problem to fix.”

She started walking again and he cursed, throwing the truck into park before getting out, leaving it idling on the side of the road.  His longer legs closed the scant distance between them quickly, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up and cradling her against his chest. 

His hand slid beneath her knees as she struggled against him. “Put me down,” she demanded angrily, swatting at his shoulder.

“No,” he grunted, wincing as her small fist glanced off his jaw.  “Not until I get you in the truck and out of this damn rain.”

She turned her head to glare at him.  “I’m not staying there, and I will hurt you if you try to make me.”

He shrugged and continued to walk back to the truck. “Fine, hurt me,” he said resolutely as they neared where the truck sat.  “Doesn’t change the fact that you’re going to listen to me for once.”

“You’re not my keeper,” she snarled, struggling mightily to free herself. 

He only tightened his arms, locking her against his broad chest. “No, I’m not,” he agreed, grunting as her elbow connected with his stomach.  “But you don’t get to judge me and then run off; that’s not fair.”

“Fair?” she sneered, pushing her hair out of her face again.  “Life isn’t fucking fair.”

“Correct again, but if you have all the facts, you might make a different decision,” he said, pulling open the door of the truck and setting her inside.  “Now, will you give me ten damn minutes to talk to you and then I promise I’ll take you wherever you want to go, or even let you back out into the fucking rain if you’re that pigheaded?”

Folding her arms across her chest, she gave him a curt nod.  He stared at her for a long moment, the rain pouring down on him as she sat protected.  Whatever he saw in her gaze seemed to satisfy him, and he closed the door and ran around to the driver’s side, jumping in and pulling the door shut behind him.

He leaned down, flipping the heater onto high.  The windows began fogging immediately and he cursed, spinning the dial so that it was a mix of heat and defrost.  Katniss sat stonily in the seat, shivering as the water dripped off of her.  When one drop dripped off the end of her nose, she swatted at it angrily.

Peeta glanced over and she could see the smile twitching on his lips.  She glared at him.  “Something amusing?”

“No,” he said, his voice filled with laughter.  He leaned back and rooted around behind the seat, finally pulling out a towel that looked like it’d been through hell and back.  “It’s clean, I promise,” he said, holding it out to her.

Katniss took it, staring dubiously at first the towel and then him.  It smelled clean at least, even if it was sporting some ugly-ass stains.  She wiped her face and pulled her hair around, wrapping the towel around the sodden mass and squeezing.  The heat felt good and she leaned closer to the vents, letting it blow over her.

Why the hell he’d followed her was beyond her; she’d been so rude to him at the party.  Everything that she’d wanted had to be put aside because of Prim, and while she loved her sister dearly, she wanted a life too.  If her parents hadn’t been so selfish and foolish, her life would’ve been so different.  As it was, she was stuck in this one-horse town, all her hard work at school amounting to nothing because community college let everyone in.  Her acceptance letters to Columbia and Temple were just reminders that her life wasn’t her own.

She sighed deeply and rubbed the towel over her hair.  If she’d only braided it this morning, it wouldn’t be as bad, but since she’d left it down, it was saturated with water from the rain and the cold water dripped down the back of her neck.  Swiping the towel over her neck, she tried to mop up the water, but it was a lost cause—she was just too damn wet.

“Do you want to go home and get some dry clothes?”

She turned to look at him again and shook her head, managing to flick water everywhere.  “No, Haymitch is there, and Prim’s at a friend’s.  I was going to stay at Gale’s.”

“Oh,” he said, and she could see his jaw tightening as he stared back at the road through the slashing windshield wipers.  The rain was still coming down in vicious torrents, sluicing off the road into the ditch that lined the sides.  The big muscle in his jaw ticked madly.  He couldn’t really think there was something going on with Gale, could he?  It wasn’t like he hid who he was, and she was definitely not on the list of things that made Gale hot and bothered.  Her gaze narrowed, mind racing.  Maybe he did.  His voice had gotten softer and she had to lean closer to hear his question. “Do you want to go there then?”

She finished squeezing out her hair and held out the towel to him, heat flashing through her at his nearness.  Damn him—he had to know that she wasn’t immune to him, after all these years of staring across rooms at each other.  Hell, she blushed every damn time his eyes landed on her!  “I thought you wanted to talk.”

He glanced over at her quickly and then jerked his gaze back to the road, a flush riding high on his cheeks.  “I did,” he said, “…Er, I mean I do.”

She snorted under her breath, shaking her head.  He was acting like she made him nervous, which was ridiculous.  He was Peeta Mellark – smooth-talking charmer of Panem High, able to get any girl he wanted.  “Well, talk.”

He laughed and shook his head.  “Not in the car. I want to see your face when we talk,” he said, glancing over at her once more.

“So where are you taking me?”

“I uh,” he stammered, as he rubbed the back of his neck.  “There’s a place, out in the woods behind my parents’ property, it’s nice…(and) um, secluded.”

_Oh hell no!_   Did he really think that he was going to get lucky just because he offered her a ride?  Katniss folded her arms across her chest.  “I’m not fucking you.”

“What?”  The truck lurched sideways, and he gripped the wheel, jerking it back and forth until they’d straightened again.  Katniss’ knuckles were white as she clutched the ‘ _oh shit’_ handle and she stared out into the rain with wide eyes.  “Shit, sorry about that.”  He lifted one hand off the wheel and ran it through his wet hair.  “Dammit, you can’t just drop a bomb like that.  That’s why I wanted to go somewhere, I can’t concentrate on driving in this damn rain and you—you’re both too distracting!”

“Just drive, Peeta.  I’d like to live through the rest of the night,” Katniss said, fingers loosening on the handle but still holding on.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the muscle ticking again in his jaw, and she turned her face to the window, hiding her smile in her shoulder.

Ten minutes later, as darkness fully fell, they pulled into a break in the trees that on a good day would barely pass for a path, but after all the rain looked like a sure way to either flip the truck, or lose a tire.  Peeta maneuvered the heavy vehicle carefully down the rutted lane, avoiding almost all of the biggest dips, but she still bounced in the seat as the tires rolled over the ones he couldn’t avoid.

A small building sat off the lane, nearly hidden by trees.  Peeta pulled the truck to a stop next to it, beneath some of the bigger branches.  He turned to look at her and she could just barely make out the flush that crept over his cheeks as his eyes dropped to her wet tank and then back up to her face.  “Give me a minute. I’ll turn on the lanterns and come back with an umbrella.”

She nodded, and he opened the door, sprinting out into the rain.  She watched him from the window, struggling with the lock on the door before it finally gave way.  Lights began to flicker on and she could see that the building wasn’t as small as it’d appeared in the darkness.  There were at least two rooms that she could see, sparsely furnished but still homey.  She watched him move back and forth and then she smelled the strong scent of woodsmoke rising out of the small chimney on the side of the building.

He finally came back outside holding a large black umbrella over his head.  When he got to the door, he held it out so that it sheltered the door as she opened it.  Katniss rolled her eyes and got out quickly, reaching out to pull him closer so that he wasn’t getting wet anymore.  “You don’t have to be so gallant; it’s just rain.”

Peeta shrugged and she could see the whiteness of his teeth in the dank gloom as he grinned at her.  “You’re wearing less clothing than I am,” he said agreeably, leading her towards the small shelter.  As they stepped inside, the heat from the fire he’d built enveloped her and she moved closer instinctively, sinking down onto the pile of blankets he’d put before the fireplace.  She heard him moving around behind her, but she held her hands out to the flames, warming herself.  It was so hot she could feel the water evaporating from her shirt and she rubbed her hands up and down her bare arms, reveling in the warmth.  The whistle of a kettle went off and she smiled; something warm would be very welcome right now.

A mug appeared in front of her face, held between long fingers.  She glanced up to find him staring down at her, an unreadable expression on his face.  Reaching up, she curled her fingers around the cup, the delicate scent of hot cocoa filling her nose as she brought the cup closer.  Warmth filled her hand, and she bent over the cup, inhaling. 

He joined her moments later, another mug in his hands.  They sat in silence for several long minutes, drinking cocoa and staring at the flames of the fire.  Katniss darted several glances his way, but he seemed content to just sit, letting the warmth seep back into them.

He finally broke the silence, leaning back on his hands as he stretched his legs out in front of him.  “So, you really think I have a perfect life, Katniss?”

She turned to look at him, lips pursed on the edge of her mug, breathing in the sweet, chocolately steam still wafting off of the cocoa.  “You’re the captain of the wrestling team, and were on the honor roll.  I know you got scholarships to a bazillion colleges and you can have any girl you want if you snap your fingers.  Yeah, I’d say it’s pretty close to perfect.”

He snorted, shaking his head.  “You don’t know anything.”

Her eyes narrowed.  Who the fuck was he kidding?  How hard could it be to be Peeta Mellark, golden boy?  Captain of the wrestling and baseball teams, presidential scholar and member of Boys’ Nation.  His resume had to be several pages long already and he’d barely graduated high school.  “So tell me.”

He sat up, setting aside his mug, staring into the dancing flames.  “I wrestle because it was the only way to channel the anger that I’ve been dealing with since I was four and I found out that my mother takes her resentment out on those that are the most helpless, namely me and my brothers.  I caught the brunt of it, maybe because I didn’t know how to hide as well as my brothers.”  He raked a hand through his hair.  “Hell, there’s probably no sane reason why I’m the one she targeted the most.”

She set her cup down and rolled up onto her knees, staring at him with wide eyes.

He shook his head, glancing over at her.  “I’m on the honor roll because I avoid going home. Nothing else to do but study if I don’t have practice or whatever other excuse I can come up with to not share space with her.”

“Does your dad know?”  Her voice was tremulous.

He scoffed, reaching down to take a deep drink before continuing.  “My father…” He trailed off, sighing deeply.  “He tried to stop it for a few years, but she’s gotten better at hiding it, doesn’t leave bruises that can be seen anymore.  He… he spends a lot of time at the bakery, or around town, volunteering.  All of us do actually.  Davin plays every sport he can and Michael—he just left, went out of state to college and never came back.  Not that I blame him, because I can’t wait to do the same thing.”  He looked up, glancing around at the small cabin. “We built this place when I was in eighth grade, just to have somewhere to escape to when it got too bad.  Dad helped us put in a bathroom and a very basic kitchen a few years later.  Guess it was his way of apologizing for the heinous bitch he married.”

She scooted closer, laying her hand on his arm, fingers curling around his wrist and sliding down to twine with his.  “I don’t know which is worse, losing your parents, or having ones that shouldn’t be parents.”

He shrugged.  “Both are equally as bad, I guess.”

She turned her head to look at him.  “I shouldn’t have assumed.”

He turned and met her gaze, the barest hint of a smile tugging at his lips.  “Everyone does.”

She shook her head.  “Doesn’t make it right.”

“It is what it is.”

Katniss sighed.  “Life usually is.” 

He squeezed her fingers gently.  “Do you still want to go?”

She ducked her head, glancing at him through her lashes and the waterfall of her hair.  “No.”

He reached out, brushing her hair back over her shoulder, a shy grin curving his lips.  “Good.”

They sat in companionable silence for a few more minutes, watching the logs pop and crackle as the flames consumed them.  The feelings that had built up over the past filled her, her stomach dancing with nerves.  She’d never dreamed that she’d have ended up here, sitting with Peeta Mellark, his hand curled around hers, fingers stroking lightly over the back of her hand.  Gale had told her to take chances, or life would end up passing her by, but she’d been so afraid, terrified of ending up like her parents, so consumed by love that they forgot nearly everything else.  Sitting here though, with the boy that had filled her thoughts for so long, she thought maybe she might understand how they’d felt.

“Katniss?”

She turned her head, looking at him once more, her heart thundering in her chest.  “Yeah?”

He was staring at her intently, eyes darting between her lips and her eyes, his tongue darting out to swipe along his lips.  “I really want to kiss you.”

Her cheeks went red and her mouth dry, stomach doing the rumba.  Her lips parted and she nodded, eyes sliding closed as he moved closer.  She felt his breath skimming over her first, then the gentle press of his lips against hers, pursing lightly as he sucked her upper lip between his.

Her fingers tightened in his, and she leaned in closer, mouth opening wider, her tongue peeping out to meet his gently questing taste.  She sighed, opening her mouth wider as he deepened the kiss, one hand sliding over her hip, drawing her closer.

He laid her back slowly, and they shifted until he was draped over her, one leg between hers, pressing up hard against her center as his lips slanted over hers again and again.

Her hands moved restlessly over his back, fingers brushing underneath the hem of his t-shirt.

Peeta pulled away from her, a wide grin on his face. “Sorry, got a little carried away,” he said softly, reaching up to brush her hair away from her face.

“It’s okay, you weren’t the only one.”

He shifted and she tightened her arms around his back.  “No, don’t go.”

His eyes went wide.  “Really?”

Katniss’ heart melted at the earnest look on his face.  Wasn’t this what she’d dreamed about forever?  Isn’t this what she’d fantasized happening over and over again from the time she realized how interesting boys were?  In for a penny, in for a pound.  She was here, Peeta was here, and he finally seemed willing to do more than just stare longingly across the room at her.  And damned if she didn’t want to find out if what she’d been imagining all those nights under the covers with her hand down her pants wasn’t real.

She gave him a shy grin.  “Really.”  She slid her hands further up his back, drawing off his t-shirt.  He reached over his head and pulled the material from his skin, tossing it aside.  The warmth radiating off of him cocooned her, surrounding her with his scent.  She wanted to feel his skin pressed against hers and she squirmed beneath him, pushing up her shirt.  Peeta lifted up and helped her peel the warm cotton from her body, tossing it to land next to his beside the fire.

Peeta bent to kiss her again, sucking the bow of her lips in between his, tongue flicking gently against the chapped skin.  Fire shot through her in a straight line, directly from where his tongue was touching her to her core, flaring hotly.  Her hips rose involuntarily, bucking against his as he slowly explored her mouth, leaving no space untouched.  His tongue curled around hers and darted away, daring her to reciprocate.  As tremors slid along her spine, she lifted her hand to card through his dense curls, tugging him closer.  His hands slid over her slight curves, molding each one in his big hands, tendrils of heat spearing through her with every caress.

Her brain was spinning, every nerve firing.  She didn’t know what she wanted – only that she wanted  _something_ .  Her panties were drenched, slick heat building hotly between her thighs with every touch of his hands on her body.

“Have you ever been in love?”

He took a deep, shuddering breath.  “Yes,” he breathed, staring down at her.  “Have you?”

“Not yet,” she said, meeting his gaze steadily.  “But then again, I never found anyone that could make me feel…”

Peeta pressed closer, trailing his lips along her jaw and down the column of her neck, finally settling against her leaping pulse.  “Feel?”

Katniss arched her back as he licked and nibbled at her skin, heat building between her thighs like a thunderstorm, threatening to swamp her with its power.  “Like this,” she breathed, turning her head and meeting his lips with her own.

Their kiss took on a life of its own, mouths meeting and tongues gliding.  For the first time in her life, Katniss didn’t think, she just let herself feel – and it was amazing.

Peeta’s hands slid over her skin, igniting fires with every gentle caress.  When his long fingers found her turgid nipple, she thought she might die with need as he plucked and rolled it, tightening it even further.

Her hips rolled sinuously against his, seeking a relief from the heat building between her thighs.  Katniss opened her eyes and found Peeta staring down into her face.  A slow smile curved her lips and she lifted her hand, trailing it across his lips.  His tongue darted out, sucking her fingers into the dense heat of his mouth.  Tension coiled stormily in her stomach as his hips thrust lightly against her.  “I want…” she breathed, desire pulsing through her like a freight train. 

“You want?” He echoed, dipping his head to trail his lips along her jawline.  “Tell me Katniss, what do you want?”

“You,” she panted, her fingers digging into the soft shag of the rug they lay on.

He lifted up off of her, bracing his weight on his elbows.  “Katniss?”

Her eyes snapped open and she lifted her hand to twine it through his hair, tightening on his thick curls.  This was her last chance to live her life without having to worry about anyone else.  Tomorrow she would have to face the reality that everyone she knew was going away to college to begin their lives and she’d be stuck in this shithole until Prim graduated.  Just once in her life she wanted to be selfish.  She wanted to live recklessly, to give in to the desire pounding through her.  She  _craved_ this.  All those years of staring across rooms, wondering what it would be like to…  “I want to, Peeta,” she said huskily, biting on her lower lip as he stared at her.

He groaned, hips twitching, arms trembling.  “You’re making it damn fucking hard to do the right thing here.”

She laughed, a bright peal of laughter that belied the tension riding hotly between them.  “I don’t want you to do the right thing, Peeta.”  Her leg rose, curling around his, bringing their hips into even more intimate contact.

The sound he made couldn't even be defined as human, sweat beading on his forehead as his arms shook with the effort to hold him off of her.  Heady with the knowledge that she held all the power, she lifted her hips again, brushing against his erection.  Lifting up, he rocked back onto his knees, digging frantically into his wallet.  A wide grin split his face as he pulled out the foil covered square.  Dropping it onto the carpet, he laid back down and his head dipped, lips covering hers, tongue probing deeply – exploring every hot, wet inch of her mouth.

His hands were everywhere, molding over her breasts, tugging at her shorts, cupping the gentle swell of her ass as he undressed her.  She was busy as well, her hands sliding between their straining bodies to unfasten his shorts and push them down.  Finally… finally there was nothing between them but skin.  He reached between them to roll the condom onto his cock, her fingers sliding the thin rubber down the thick shaft with his.

The blunt head of his cock pressed against the slick heat of her pussy, teasing against the soft folds. She was ready, so damn ready to feel him inside of her that she was trembling from head to toe.  Her eyes fluttered open and locked with his as he pushed slowly into her.  It hurt for a few seconds and then the wave of pleasure that had been building for the last hour crested and broke over her, slipping and sliding along her nerve endings, radiating outwards from where their bodies joined.

“You’re so fucking perfect,” he grunted, big hands cupping her ass, lifting her up to meet his thick, heavy thrusts.  She couldn’t speak, couldn’t do anything but feel as pleasure screamed through her with every twist of his hips.  His cock slid and pressed against her clit on every stroke, ratcheting up the tension even higher. 

“Gonna, oh fuck, Katniss…I’m gonna come,” Peeta panted, hips snapping hard against hers as he picked up the pace.  “Please tell me you’re close,” he begged, lips brushing against her ear, hot breath teasing against the shell.

“Yes,” she panted, nails digging into his back, her feet planted wide, hips swinging up to meet every stroke.  “Yes…oh god…yes!”  White hot heat spilled through her, limbs twitching as the tight coil of tension broke free, letting her fly.

“Katniss!”  Peeta followed her over the edge seconds later, hips pumping hard as he came, fingers tightening on her hips hard enough to leave bruises.  He collapsed atop her, burying his face in her neck.

Eyes closed, she floated in bliss, lost in the moment and the feel of his arms wrapped around her, his lips on her neck, brushing lightly against her leaping pulse.   She felt so many things – treasured, wanted, loved.  It scared her as much as it thrilled her.  No one but Gale had gotten close, and even then there were parts of herself that she’d never let anyone see, but Peeta had stripped them all bare, inserting himself into her life and refusing to be pushed out.  Tears pricked at her closed lids as she fought against the  _what ifs_ that ran through her head.  What if her parents hadn’t died?  What if she could go away to college?  What if she and Peeta had a future?  It was the last one that was killing her.  She’d come to terms – mostly – with the fact that she wasn’t going to be able to accept the scholarships and her parents’ deaths was still an icy hole in her heart, but one she’d found a way to live with.  Peeta – he was a different story, the pain of what could have been settling deep in her heart, encasing it further in ice.

Peeta stirred, lifting up on his elbows.  He used one hand to brush her hair gently away from her face.  “Hi,” he said tenderly.

Her eyes opened slowly and she blinked back the tears that she refused to let fall.  His big hand cupped her cheek. “Did I hurt you?”

Katniss shook her head, biting on her lip.  “No,” she said, softly, voice thick with unshed tears.

He frowned.  “Regrets?”

She shook her head vehemently.  He rolled off of her, and reached for their clothing, silently handing her tank top to her before sliding on his boxers.  She sat up, pulling the shirt over her head and grabbed her panties, cheeks flushing as she drew them on.  When she was dressed, she bent her legs, wrapping her arms around her knees, staring down at the grain pattern in the wood as Peeta pulled on his shorts.  He sat next to her, not talking, just giving her some time to think.  Taking a deep breath, she finally lifted her head, giving him a tremulous smile. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he said quickly.  “I’m the one that should apologize; I pushed you into something you obviously weren’t ready to do.”

Katniss shook her head.  “No, it’s not that.  I wanted to do it, Peeta.  You didn’t push me into anything.”

“You’re crying, Katniss,” he returned, raking his hand through his hair.  “That’s not exactly the emotion a guy wants to see on the girl he just had sex with.”

She laughed without mirth.  “Believe me, it’s not the emotion I wanted either, but it’s nothing you did.  It’s my issue.”  Pushing up off the floor, she rose slowly.

Peeta scrambled to his feet, reaching out to grasp her arm.  “What’s that supposed to mean?”  Her gaze darted between her arm and his face and he flushed, but didn’t remove his hand.  Silence stretched taut between them.  “Katniss?”

Another deep breath as she closed her eyes, seeking some kind of equilibrium.  When she opened them again, he was still standing next to her, his fingers curled warmly around her forearm.  Her gaze dropped to the ground.  “It’s a one-time thing, I get it,” she said softly, the words barely audible.

“It doesn’t have to be.”

Her head shot up and she searched his face for some hint of deception, but there was none.  Warmth curled in her belly and with it…hope.  He moved closer, slowly sliding his arms around her waist, tipping her chin up with one long finger.  “I don’t want just one time, Katniss.”

Her eyes were wide as she stared at him, her heart thumping madly in her chest.  He smiled and it was like the sun had come out after a miserable storm.  “I’ve wanted this…you…” He laughed.  “Hell, for longer than I can remember.”

“Peeta.”  Her hands rose almost of their own accord, sliding over the soft blond hairs on his forearms.  His smile grew impossibly wider.

“I followed you today because I knew this was my last chance to try, and I couldn't live one more day without telling you how I felt.”  He moved closer still, lips trailing along her jawline and up towards her ear.  “Stay with me.”

The tiny kernel of hope flared and grew, spreading out and filling her.  She pushed back enough to be able to meet his gaze.  “You don’t even know me.”

His smile was full of sin and promise.  “Let’s remedy that, then.  What do you say?”

She nodded slowly, a smile tugging at her lips.  Peeta leaned in and captured her lips in a sweet, hot kiss.


End file.
